A New Uprising: The Day 'Chase' Became 'Jackson'
by supersassysnakeatingbadger
Summary: Set after "A New Uprising." This story follows the love goddess's favourite couple of the century. Who knew putting together a wedding could be this hard? Definitely not these two.
1. Disclaimer

**Hi! Just a warning! This story is based upon a previous fanfiction which I wrote with my friend: excusemewhileiasdfghjkl**

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO/HoO, Uncle Rick does. I only own these ideas and any OCs.

So for anyone who wants to read this, go ahead and read our previous stories:

\- A New Uprising

\- The Child of Prophecy

For this story, I'll be posting every 4 days, so please review! I think that's all, now on with the story!

 **Love y'all, supersassysnakeeatingbadger**


	2. I Have No Idea How to Write a Vow -Percy

Smiling. I couldn't stop doing it. It'd been the only thing on my face for the whole week, because I couldn't wait. Annabeth and I were tasting the cakes that Katie Gardner, and the other bakers of Cabin 4, had made for us to try. That and all the fondants and marzipan. Of course, I was only there for the food and for Annie. She was the one with the list and ticking stuff off. Luckily, I didn't have to do anything except say which cake I like the best. And that was easy.

"The blue cheesecake that has blueberries and whipped cream on it."  
"Simple. Elegant. Not too strenuous. What do you think Annabeth?" Max cut another small piece and offered it to Annabeth. She nibbled it, closing her eyes to think before nodding.

"Yep, blue cheesecake it is." She looked up at the clock on the wall inside the Demeter cabin's expansive kitchen. "Crap, I have to go. Percy you have to see if you can talk to your mum, right?"  
"Yeah," I replied, getting to my feet and heading back to my own cabin. I dropped onto the bed, hanging my head off the end, palms of my hands massaging my face. I closed my eyes, trying to block out the sounds of the outside world.

"Wise girl, you've been by my side since the beginning of this crazy adventure."  
"We met when you were asleep. And you were drooling." She started laughing lightly.  
"I'm trying to be romantic here, stop trying to make me look bad."  
"Sorry," she said, exhaling to finish her bout of laughter.

"What I'm trying to say here is that you are awesome, and I wouldn't be able to survive without you by my side."  
"Seaweed brain, what are you talking about?"  
I swung around from the sandy beach we were sitting on and into a kneel.  
"Annabeth, will you marry me?"  
She glanced around at the otherwise empty beach and started to tear up. Sure the beach was empty, but I could see Jason and Piper hovering behind some trees, and could see a dolphin getting way too close to the shore. I would have bet any money that that was Frank. At least Grover and Juniper had been able to hide well, because I couldn't see them anywhere.  
"Percy! What? Marriage?"  
"Yeah, that's what a proposal is for, right?" My hand started shaking and my voice became hesitant as she started to laugh. Was that how you were meant to react to a proposal? I couldn't tell.  
"You don't remember, do you?"  
"Remember what?"  
"Our first quest."

"Yeah, what about it?"  
"You are such a seaweed brain. The apple! We played hacky sack with Grover." She held out her hands like it was supposed to mean something.  
"...And Grover could eat an apple in one bite?"  
"Oh my gods! You proposed to me then."  
"I proposed… to you… when I was eleven?" I paused every now and then to make sure that I hadn't lost track of the story. Each time Annabeth nodded I continued. "How was I supposed to know that?"  
"You are such a seaweed brain."  
"That doesn't matter. Because I'm proposing now, and I actually know that I am."

Annabeth threw her head back and laughed, when she finally looked back at me, tears were welling in her eyes.

"So… Is that a yes or…"  
"Yes. It's a yes." Together, we slipped the ring on her finger. Black started to crowd around my memory as I sat back up. The blood rushed from my head. I tried to remember what Annie had told me to do now. I looked at my palm, the smeared black ink, talk to mum.

"YoU'rE wHaT?!"

"Getting married. To...to Annabeth, that is.." She should have known, my mum had been trying to hint at it for years. She was obviously stunned at the timing.

"When did this happen? Also, I need dates for the wedding."

"The proposal? It was, uh, about seven months ag-"

"Seven months! Have you been helping plan the wedding? It'd be quite soon, I would imagine." As always mum was right.

"It's in 5 days." Mum's jaw dropped, and she called my little sister, Estelle, and Paul into the kitchen. Estelle's little brown ringlets framed her face, and she waved at me through the mist. I waved back, causing her to erupt into giggles. "Anyway, I have to write this vow. Love you all lots, bye!"  
The Mist connection ended as I sliced my hand through it. Now to get down to business.

I tapped the pen against my knee for the thousandth time. How was I meant to write this? A vow had to be one of the most impossible things to write. I remember the first time I met you, I had woken up in the infirmary after defeating the minotaur. The first words I ever heard you say were, "He's the one, he has to be." I saw you, and your blonde curls and tan skin. My first thought was that you looked like a princess. And I think that every single time that I have seen you since. I couldn't write anything else. I'd already spent an hour looking through the dictionary that I'd borrowed from the Athena Cabin Library. What was I meant to write? It was so confusing, and I was willing to bet anything that Annie already had hers finished. Maybe I could ask Grover, or Jason. Grover would know about my feelings, the empathy link was still active. At least I thought it was. Oh, man. I hadn't spoken to Grover or seen him since the battle. He was alive, I knew that much. But the last time I'd seen him was when Juniper…

Heaving myself up off of the bed, I made my way into the woods. I remembered the grove where the satyr council met, finding it easily. A satyr was sitting with their back to the entrance. Curly brown hair –and scatterings of grass and silver hairs– stuck out in cows-licks around the horns that protruded from his head. A rueful tune was played and replayed from his pan-flute. Poor Grover, he wasn't that old. He should be out having fun. I hoped he'd actually left the grove for food, but from the looks of his skin stretching over his thin frame, he hadn't.

"Grover! Hey," I didn't want to startle him. He meekly looked up before going back to his mournful blowing.

"I was wondering– since Annabeth's busy– would you be able to help me with a project?"

"Sure, Percy." He lowered his pan-flute, and I sat down beside him. Passing over my piece of paper, he read through it. Slowly, he blinked.

"What's this for?"

"You remember when I proposed to Annie, right? Well, she's decided to start planning the wedding. And well... That's my vow."

Grover nodded, exhaling. "What would you like me to do?"

"Since we still have our empathy link-" I paused to check if he nodded, to which he did, "- You would know my feelings. How do I write it?"

"Gee, Percy. I don't know. The spelling is pretty good though." He handed me back the paper with a shrug.

"Thanks, I used a dictionary and Chiron to help me find them. Can you believe that there's only the absolute correct spelling in here. And I tried spelling thought with a double 'f' at the start." It was so unlike Grover to chuckle at my jokes. "You okay?"

"No, and I am very surprised that you are."

"Why?"

"Because you died!"

"No, I think I would remember dying."

"I felt it. You were dead." The colour from Grover's face was gone, and he looked more serious and aged than he'd ever been. That battle must have been painful for him. He was also a cloven elders council member, and Lord of the Wild. He would have had to do so much damage control with the nymphs and satyrs. That was all before he actually took himself into account, I could barely imagine how it must have been. I should have been here for him. Instead I'd been teaching sword-fighting and going to the beach every other day. I wasn't being the friend that I should have been.

"Man, I'm sorry. I should have been here helping you and trying to fix things."

His first chuckle for the day. Sure it was weak and half-hearted, but it still had a bit of soul. "You definitely haven't changed, Perce. Back from the dead, and already trying to fix things and help people. I'd love to stay and chat, but I have another cloven elders meeting. I hope to catch up with you soon, man."

With that, Grover left. I had nothing else to do in the grove either so I headed back through the woods. I spotted a camper running between the trees to my left, probably off to find their partner for the three-legged race or something else.

My cabin really wasn't the best place for brainstorming stuff, so I went up to the Big House. Chiron would know how to write a vow. And if he didn't, at least he knew about Annabeth. He was on the verandah, playing two person solitaire with Mr. D. I hadn't remembered him coming back, but who's to say if he even was back?

"Mr. D. Chiron." I announced my arrival.

"Perry Johnson. It's been a time." Mr. D. swigged from his coke.

"Only five or so years."

"I'd prefer longer next time." I nodded in agreeance.

"Was there something you wanted, Percy?" Chiron interrupted before our little 'chat' got inappropriate.

"I need help writing my vow for Annabeth. And... Well I figured that you know how to write and you've seen Annabeth grow up.

"You could talk about that time you got turned into a guinea pig. She loved that time."

"I'd prefer if my vow didn't make me look any dumber than I already look."

"Shame. I'm out of options than, Peter." Mr. D got up and headed inside.

"You've told me some of your adventures. You could talk about when she was taken by Atlas, and how you responded. Or how you thought of her when you had amnesia and were with the Romans. There's many things you can do Percy."

"I know what to say, sorta. I just don't know how to put it into words."

"Ah, yes. That is a dilemma. Start by writing an outline, what do you want to put in. Then you can complicate it." I nodded. Okay, a plan. I can make one of them. "And how is Annabeth going with all her arrangements?"

"Good. I think. I haven't been too much help. But Pipes was coming over and doing her makeup. They also have a dress fitting and florals to do too."

"You've definitely gotten better at remembering times and events, Mr Jackson." Chiron smiled.

"Not really," I showed him the palm of my hand which was covered in blue pen and times. He let out a lighthearted chuckle.

"Oh well. I can only ask so much of you. Come, play some cards with an old centaur."

"What are we playing?"

"Rummikub."

"Um...ever heard of go fish?"


	3. Sharp Things Don't Go Near Eyes -Annie

"Shoot, was that your eye again, Annie?"

"No, no, you're good."

It was my eye again, but that was fine. Pipes had her tongue stuck strategically out the side of her mouth as she polished off my primer, finishing it with a quick flick of her wrist.

"Alright, now what colour were we thinking? Blue, right?"

I nodded as well as I could without disturbing Piper's work. We had already done my hair, coiling it up on top of my head and leaving tendrils fleeing down my face. It left me feeling mildly like Medusa, but both Piper and Drew had assured me it looked gorgeous, and I had to admit my reflection wasn't horrific. But that didn't help quell the nerves starting to blossom in my stomach.

I was getting married.

Married.

To Percy. To my Seaweed Brain boyfriend and now fiance. We had been through so much together it seemed almost unreal that we-

"Ow!"

"Gods, I'm sorry Annie. Are you okay?"

Tears began to well in my eye from the unexpected pain, but I held them back, not wanting to smudge all the makeup layering my face. Shooting Piper a quick smile, I motioned for her to continue applying my first layer of eyeshadow, a light teal blue that apparently set off my eyes. Piper seemed hesitant to keep going, brush loose and desolate in her hand.

"Annie, maybe I should just get Drew," she said, looking downcast, "I...I'm not as good at this as I thought...she would probably do a better job."

I interrupted her by placing a firm hand on her arm.

"Pipes," I started resolutely, "You are my Maid of Honour. I wouldn't want anyone else doing my makeup."

She gave me a slightly teary smile, raising her brush again. An awkward silence began to descend as she got to work, leaning in close and concentrating hard. Feeling too anxious, I tried to start some conversation.

"So...how's Jason?"

"He's fine. Not proposing anytime soon though."

She gave a little laugh and I realised I might have strayed into a bit of a touchy subject. Too late now.

"Sorry. I just-"

"Nah, it's okay. Besides, we like just being together. Jason and I don't think we need a ceremony to show that we love each other. No offence or anything. Yours is going to be amazing, I can already tell."

"Thanks."

Piper proceeded to apply more makeup to my face, using delicate brushes to define and manicure my eyebrows. I wasn't sure what exactly she was doing - she was standing in the way of the mirror - but I was sure it looked great. Despite not wanting to have anything to do with her Aphrodite heritage, Piper had an affinity for this kind of thing. Me however…

Let's just say I was glad that Pipes was here to help.

"So, is everything else sorted?" Piper asked, moving another brush lower to apply something to my cheeks, "Cake, seating, floral arrangements?"

"Just finished the cake before," I answered, glad to have something to distract me from my itching face, "Cabin four made it for us. It's a blue cheesecake with blueberries and whipped cream on it."

"Aw, Perc would love that."

"Yeah. And then seating we figured out last week. Do you know how hard it is to take into account all the godly feuds and disagreement? I had to make a new binder."

"But you got it all figured out?"

I cast my memory back. I had Poseidon and Hermes and Apollo together. Hera, despite being the goddess of marriage and family, was absolutely barred from coming. Athena was seated next to Artemis and Hestia, far, far away from Poseidon. I twitched my nose, forgetting where I'd placed everyone else. I also had a table for my cousin and his family, that is if they decided to come. The binder would have to be checked again.

Okay, focus. You were meant to be spending quality time with Pipes, without worrying about the rest of the wedding.  
"Are you nervous?"  
"About the wedding?"  
"Yeah, the wedding."  
"Not really, I'm nervous about whose coming. Hazel and Leo haven't said anything."  
"That's a shame, has anyone tried?"  
"Yeah, last time we heard from Hazel was two weeks ago. And Leo…"  
"Not since the battle?"  
I nodded to answer Piper's question. We'd all tried, no one could get through. He just cut the connection every time. I could tell that almost everyone was losing their grips with him, ready to turn their backs. The only person that seemed to keep trying was Nisha, his little protege. She seemed to run off into the woods everyday like clockwork, and came back at lunch with puffy eyes and wet cheeks. Everyone knew where she went, his old bunker. Most of the camp…they turned a blind eye to it, far too busy to care about someone who missed their closest friend. The only person that seemed to care was Percy, he sat with her and talked, trying to make her laugh and smile, trying to make her happy again.

"Ouch!" I winced again. Why was it socially acceptable to have a sharp stick poking your eyeball? Wasn't that something you learnt in the first grade? Not to have sharp things near your eyes?

"Sorry," Piper apologised as she put down the pencil, "And here we have the beautiful wedding look."

She spun me around in the chair to face the Aphrodite cabin's full length mirror. Gods, I looked so different, and the makeup had hid my freckles. My face was a tritone palette of a light foundation, rosy cheeks and a little bronzer and contour. Piper had claimed that I didn't need any highlight, whatever that meant. My eyes though, they were lined with a small black line that ended in a cat eye. The lids themselves were dabbled in an array of light blues and greys, with a white on my bone.

"Do you like it? Please tell me that you like it."

"It's... It's... Wow, it's amazing. I love it Piper."

"Are you sure? I can see you wincing."

"No, no, no. That's just because I'm trying not to cry, it's too beautiful to mess up."

I stood up and smiled at her, she genuinely smiled back.

"Okay, miss bride-to-be, where to now?"

"Nowhere."

"What? Weren't we meant to be doing dresses?"

"Yeah, but who needs to do that now?"

"Isn't the wedding in a week?"

"Yeah, so? I could really use a walk on the beach. Don't you?"

"Um, I have to go and check on Jason in New Rome and pick up the dresses, because we said we would. Maybe some other time?"

"Yeah, no problem." We head out of the cabin and go our separate ways, Piper to the Labyrinth passage back to New Rome and I head back to the Athena cabin library. Sitting at my desk, I pull out the binder which was filled with all the things I'd organised for the wedding. A timetable, seating chart for the ceremony and another for the reception; details about the cake and details about different people's jobs. We had our flower girl of Nico and Will's daughter, Katie; and ring bearer of close friend Nisha. I ran over the seating again. My cousin and his family were sitting at the closest table to ours, and opposite the Olympians'. This would be interesting.

"Hey," Percy said as he sat beside me. We just looked out at the waves lapping against sand. I glanced at Percy, his sea-green eyes flitting about the beach.

"What're you thinking about?"

"How perfect the wedding will be. Mom said that they'll absolutely be here. They wouldn't miss is for the world." That was perfect, I knew Sally wouldn't say no.

"That's good, I've sat them up at the table with us, Chiron and my dad." I nestled my head on his shoulder, neither of us saying anything more. We just mutually knew, we didn't have to speak. It didn't feel like long until the conch that signalled for dinner blew, but in actuality it'd been over an hour. Slowly we moved and got to our feet.

"Wow, Piper did your makeup? It looks amazing." I blushed at his comment, and we started to walk to the dining pavilion.

 **Sorry for not posting in ages! I've been super unmotivated, and get really distracted really easily. I've been sitting on this chapter for a while, but just got nowhere with it. I've tried to finish it to the best of my ability, and am going to try and post more regularly because I've altered my plan for the story. Anyway, review if you think anything could go wrong with this wedding. And which character is your favourite, in the whole series that Excuse... and I have made? Mine personally is Nisha because she and I are so alike, but I would also have to go with Leo because his emotion is so raw and he tries to hide it, which I feel like I do way too much.**


	4. What Don't You Say To The Tux -Nisha

"No! Why? I don't even like dresses."  
"Stop whining, you look gorgeous." I closed my mouth, Drew's Charmspeak forcing me to. They had me on the Aphrodite cabin platform, Drew incessantly adjusting the dress I was stuck in. It wasn't a bad dress, it just sucked on me. The blue was too vibrant, the skirt too long and the poofy sleeves!  
"Could I wear something else? Anything else?" I pleaded, hoping that they had something that didn't make me look like a colouring pencil.  
"We have white, but that doesn't match your skintone at all." Drew tutted, as Stephanie pointed at it; it looked so much better, with a shorter skirt and airy fabric.  
"Please? I'm begging you," I would've gotten down onto my knees had the dress allowed me to.  
"No! That's final." Drew snapped, before a sadistic smile crept upon her face, "How do you feel about changing that?"  
I looked in the mirror to what she was pointing to.  
"My hair? No, uh-uh. Not happening."  
"The white makes you look like an oldie, and it clashes with the black." She nodded to Stephanie, who was already grabbing out various colour-filled pots, "Now hop out of the dress, it's time to fix that hair."  
Thank gods she hadn't caked on the Charmspeak, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to resist. I ran, the length of the dress tripping me up. Looking behind me, I freaked out. Stephanie and Drew were getting closer. Tearing the skirt so I could move more freely, I kept running. Making my way into the forest, I hid behind some trees, hoping that they wouldn't find me. They gave up not too long after, going back to their cabin. I started to head along my usual route, the secret lake. Skirting around the edge, I found my tree with the secret hiding spot. Digging out a knife and some candy, I cut the skirt shorter and ripped the poofy sleeves off. They lay in a crumpled heap on the ground. I tossed the sweets in my mouth and sat on a patch of sand by the lake, digging the ground with the knife.  
"Having fun?" I looked up to see a girl my age, at least I thought. She didn't really have a distinct age about her. She was covered in freckles, with blue veins prominent on every inch of her visible body. "I see you here a bit. Never spoken to you before though."

"Nisha, daughter of Hecate." The lie came so easily. After all, I'd been saying it for the past five years. I looked at her closer, the blue tinge to her skin, the blue curls in her thicket of hair. "Hey! You're a nymph, aren't you?"  
"Wow, rude. But yeah, I'm a naiad."

"Sorry, I've only met a sprite before." Her eyes lit up at my remark. Her jaw had dropped and she was slowly edging closer to me.

"Seriously? I've always wanted to meet one, but they don't hang out in places like this. Tell me everything." She dropped to her haunches, skirt tucked beneath her.  
"So it all started when I tried to do this ritual. It was all experimental and theoretical. But I just kinda yeeted my way through. Some sprite showed up-"  
"What does yeeted mean?"  
I laughed, I could have done so many things. Told her a huge lie and that yeet was a term for something else. But I didn't. I told her, "Yeet is just a word people use. It means most things but mainly throwing something or going through it without thinking. Like spontaneity."  
She nodded, flourishing her hand for me to go on with the story. "The sprite showed up, right? And was like-"  
"-What'd they look like?"  
"Like a burnt chicken nugget." I started to laugh at her face scrunched up in confusion, "I'm joking. It was Obsession, and they just looked like me. Spat in my face and spoke a tonne of garbage about how I deal with things."  
The naiad whose name I still didn't know just sat, almost facepalming. "That sounds lame. I bet you didn't even meet a sprite. You just made it up."  
"Nuh-uh. I have proof." My pride swelled, how badly I wanted to prove her wrong.  
"Go on then, show me."  
I pointed at the white streaks at the front of my hairline, "Those were what I got in return from the sprite. That and losing a friend"  
"Such a liar."  
"Says someone I barely know."  
"Name's Halimeda."  
"Dope. Not gonna remember it, but dope. And I'm gonna prove it to you." I jump up and grab her hand, it's cool and soothing against mine. I pull her towards Bunker 9, opening the door.  
I pull her into one of the side rooms where we used to come up with plans. The desk was still littered with blue paper and books. Grabbing the dusty leather one, I opened it. Tilting it so that Halimeda could see, I pointed at the photos. There were of the three of us: Leo, Festus and I. It was the day I first flew with them. Beforehand, I looked stiff as a brick, and my eyes were bulging. Afterwards, my hair was a mess that was everywhere, and I was laughing in the photo.  
"See? No streaks."  
"That proves nothing." Hal rolled her eyes, and I just tossed the book back onto the desk. I headed back to the door, waving her through before locking it behind us. "I'm bored."  
"Same, but I don't wanna go back. Stephanie and Drew are trying to make me wear this for a wedding in a few days."  
"A wedding?"  
"Yeah, Percy's and Annabeth's. They're really cool and some of my closest friends."  
"And they're getting married." She said skeptically, "Isn't that weird, you're like 9."  
"I'm 12, so shut the heck up."  
"Well, I'm 13048 so I outrank you." For someone so old, she definitely acted so immature. We started to walk back to her lake, as she pointed out the different trees and said who she like and didn't. Out of the blue she grabbed my hand again and pulled me behind a shrub.  
"What are you do-"  
"Sssshh, hellhound. It'll kill you if you're not careful."  
"Pfft, the dog won't bite."  
"Yes, it does." She panicked as I peeked out behind the bush to catch a glimpse, only to be pushed further into it. I quickly became aware of the fact that she was still holding my hand. And the fact that she was worried about me dying, my cheeks slightly to flush bright red. The me inside my mind was running around screaming and quoting love songs, whilst my outside me could barely look away from her. She was still looking through some of the less dense twigs in the bush, still holding my hand. Sighing in relief she looked back at me. "It should be fine now, the hellhound's gone."  
I smirked. Duh, of course she had left, I told her to. But I hadn't told her to come, I just panicked at the thought of holding Halimeda's hand. She stood up, dusting the leaves and grass from her skirt and held her hand out again to help me up. I just sat there, frozen in shock for a few seconds before she hastily pulled me up. I was about to open my mouth as I heard the conch shell sound for dinner. Had I really been gone all afternoon?  
"You have to go, don't you?" Halimeda sounded disheartened, like she didn't want me to leave.  
"Yeah, but you could come with me."  
"I can't," she shook her head, "I have to stay near my lake and its water."

I grabbed my water bottle from my stash in the tree, filling it up with the lake's water. "Boom, now you can come with me."  
She laughed, it was light, pure and bubbly; exactly like a brook. I took a gulp of air before suggesting, "If you wanted, you could come to the wedding with me."  
"Yeah. That'd be fun." Her face was lit up, her grin stretching from ear to ear, crinkles at the corner of her eyes.

"Okay, well. I have to go have dinner, I'll see you later." I waved and started running towards the dining pavilion. I nudged into line to grab dinner, looking up to see Chiron and Will scolding two boys who couldn't be more than 8. One of them was holding a ELEPHANT. I laughed, I hadn't seen anyone dare touch that in all my time. The blond one twirled his head to search for the sound, settling on me. He scrunched up his face and bared his teeth in an absolutely adorable way. I waved before seating myself next to Lou. Wolfing down my food, we sat in almost silence compared to the ear-shattering of every other table. She was reading a book, not bothering to look at me. When she finally did, disgust was evident on her face.  
"What have you been doing? What colour was this?" I looked down, self-conscious.  
"I was out, walking. I fell over a few times. And for your knowledge, it was blue."  
She nodded before reading her book again.

I looked around, seeing Percy and Annabeth sitting at their own table, talking. Taking a deep breath, I clenched my water bottle and headed over to their table.  
In my mind, I sat down and waited for them to stop speaking. I asked them if I could bring a friend to their wedding. They replied yes before I got up and left. My mind liked to make up stories, because that was as far from the truth as Pluto was to the Sun. In actuality, I sat down and blatantly said, "I have a friend. Can she come?"  
"Uh, definitely." Annabeth was confused, probably not thinking about the possibility that my friend was a nymph, since all the campers were invited.  
"Bye." I said, standing and practically running away from the pavilion.

I was on the homestretch to my cabin when a shout stopped me. I turned around, flinching slightly as Drew came strutting over with Stephanie at her heels.  
"You ruined my dress. That's it, uh-um," she snapped her fingers, "Whatever your name is, I don't care. You are so going to pay. I worked so hard on that." With that she turned on her heels and left, Stephanie still scrambling behind her, scowling at me. What a day it had been, meeting a naiad and getting a death threat. What more had happened that I didn't know?


	5. Don't Have A Dog, Have A Festus - Leo

Iris was seriously trying to go out of her way to torment me. At least twice a day since I'd left, I'd been messaged. They couldn't tell that I just needed some time alone. Festus and I had gone west, heading closer to Nebraska. It was smack bang in the middle of the US, so our chances of being found were unlikely. That was until she messaged me.  
"Yo. Percy's getting married. Please come home." She said it so fast that it was all slurred together, probably hoping to get it out before I severed the connection, which I did.

"Come on bud, we gotta go back. And we could probably give you a tune up too while we're back at the Bunker." And just like that, Festus and I were soaring back to camp. Reaching the camp near the middle of the night, we used the roof entrance to the bunker. Nothing had moved as far as I could see. I could hear a slight crackling go off in a radio that had been there for ages, turning it off I started up the catwalk to my old room. Laying out my bedroll, I was about to close my eyes. Shuffling, downstairs. I could hear it clear as day, it was driving me insane.

Clamping my hands over my ears, I told myself that it was probably just Festus getting comfortable, or mice. Squeezing my eyes shut, I willed myself to go to sleep.  
"Are you crazy?" I could hear someone talking, it was soft and feminine. She was a few feet away from me from the way the sound echoed. I feigned sleep for a bit longer to hear the next part of the conversation.  
"Definitely, you're still dreaming. Come on, wake up." I heard her answer herself, followed by the sharp sound of a slap. "Ow! Crap! That means…"  
Swift steps proceeded along with a human jumping on me. Time for my fake sleep to end.  
"It's too early in the day to be killed. Leave me alone."  
"Nope, I'm not leaving. You idiot." I opened my eyes, only to see more black. I turned my head, the thicket of hair finishing. Her blue-green eyes crinkled at the corners and her hands were wrapped around my mid. "Why did you come back?"  
"Because I wasn't going to miss the wedding. Duh."  
"Really? That's cool. You've missed so much. Let's go tell Percy and-"  
"-Woah. Slow down, let's think about this. How about we don't tell Percy? Sound good? Just our little secret?" I could see the confliction in her face, it made sense.  
"But- ok. Can I at least tell you what you missed?" She waited for me to nod. "Nico and Will have a daughter. Mrs O'Leary had puppies. I made a friend. There's two little boys that are living at the Big House with Chiron. Is Festus here?" Her sentences had all mushed together, and I couldn't tell one thing from the other.  
"You made a friend?" I was surprised that was as important as she made it out to be. However the moment she started blushing I understood why. "What are they like?"  
"Well, she's pretty and funny and super competitive." I scrunched up my nose slightly surprised. But not really, I'd been around Nisha since she was brand new to camp. She'd always seemed to behave differently to others.  
"What's her name?"  
"Halimeda, she's a nymph." My cheeks were turning red, I was so proud of my little dweeb for making a friend, although I knew that the other campers could break her down.  
"Cool, are you ready? We've got to do some tune ups on Festus. Could take a few hours."  
"Heck yeah." As we headed downstairs, she continued rambling on about what I'd missed in the week and a bit. Every now and then I'd call out for something and she'd hand it to me, barely breaking between stories.  
"I'm gonna grab us lunch. Want anything?"  
"Yeah, a sub sandwich would be great."  
"Dope. I'll be back." She left, the bunker instantly quieter. Festus whirred and drilled at me.  
"No, you know what's happening. We're leaving after the wedding. She's been fine for the last week; she'll be fine without us."  
"Hey, I'm back. Sandwich." She tossed me the food, and I started to munch on it turning to face her. She had a water bottle beside her, the lid open. I'd seen her keep it by her all day, but never drink from it. "I'm bored, wanna play hide-and-seek?"  
I nodded at her, trying to act like everything was fine so that she wouldn't suspect anything.  
"Ok, I'm counting first." She closed her eyes and covered them with her hands as I got up and started to tiptoe towards the old janitors cupboard upstairs. Sitting in a spot inside, I heard her call out that she was starting. Now all I had to do was hope she wouldn't find me.

"Okay, Festus. This is important. Where's your heart?" He drilled his teeth and several pieces of plating moved, folding in on each other to show a motor that looked somewhat heartish. She dug into her overall pocket, pulling out a steel-grey piece of metal and attaching to the heart. Giving him the thumbs up, Festus moved the plating back into position. "I know that you're going to leave again, and I know that neither of us can change his mind. But that piece is a tracer, I have the receiver. You send me a signal and I'll come. Please don't tell him, otherwise he'll end up hurting himself more than us. Now who's a good boy?" She cooed at the automaton as he drilled his teeth once more. Once their bonding moment had finished, she set about finding Leo.

It'd been seventeen minutes since I'd first hid, but I was getting bored. And mints can only entertain you for so long.  
"Did you seriously give up already?" I called as I stepped out of my hiding space. Glancing around, I couldn't see anyone in the bunker except for Festus and myself. Looking out the door, I could see the lake and Nisha sitting with a nymph beside it. Smiling, I looked back at Festus, who tilted his head at me.  
"Nope, not gonna change my mind. She clearly doesn't need me here." I went into the blueprint room, covered in all the old sketches. Everything had a miniscule layer of dust coating it except for a leatherbound book. Picking it up, I flipped through the photos in the album.

"Hey, Leo. We're going to try and sneak some ice-cream from the stores. Hal's never had it before. Do you want some?" Nisha and her friend stood in the door, arms linked. I sad smile crawled onto my face as I shook my head, no. They left for their heist, whilst I sank into a chair. She truly didn't need me at this camp, and no one else did. I could've left right then and there, but I'd promised to say goodbye to Nisha for good. Because I had sworn on the river Styx that I would never return to camp for good.


	6. My Big Fat Norse Family - Magnus

"I cannot believe that you're taking them." Alex sat with his legs hanging off the back of the couch. I pulled at the grass beside me on the floor of my room.  
"Mallory and Halfborn will be fine. Besides, Annabeth said to bring family, and they count."  
"They're our level-mates," Alex replied flatly. "Besides we'll be out of the hotel, so if any of us die-"  
"-Except Heath and Blitz."  
"Yeah, sure. We die for good, no more chances. Are you really going to bring them?"  
"They sailed with us, they go to a wedding with us." I jumped up, grabbing the invitation Annabeth had sent me. "Do I look somewhat formal?"  
"Maggie, you're a hippie."  
"Hey!"  
"Well, let me cut your hair again. The bun looks a bit pnaf." I shook my head violently, last time that happened Alex had given me a bob like a suburban mom. No way was I going to let that happen again.  
"Fine, Mallory and Halfborn can stay back. But then it'll just be us, Blitz, Hearth and T.J."  
"Have you even asked T.? He mightn't want to come." I replied by shaking my head again. Alex stood and walked to the doorway, yelling into the hall, "Yo, T.J.! Wanna come to Mag's cousin's wedding?"  
"I'm okay."  
"See? Settled, another bites the dust."  
"There's only the four of us now." I headed into the walk-in closet as Alex started jumping on the bed. There was just green shirts for days and jeans and khaki shorts. Digging into the further back, I still couldn't see anything. "I guess we can just go as us. Blitz will dress to impress, no doubt."

"Meh, I always look good." I chuckled as Alex struck a catwalk pose from the bed, flipping me off as I applauded him. "When even is it?"  
I glanced at the invitation again, "Tomorrow."  
"Fun, who else is gonna be there. Any riff-raff?" Alex asked hopingly, to which I stuck my tongue out and shrugged. Honestly, I had no clue. I wasn't even sure if her dad was going to be there, she'd mentioned he was going to be away last time we spoke though.  
"Feel like trying to find a gift, is that what you're meant to do?"  
"I don't know, this is my first wedding apart from my own." We waived the thought of buying a gift, everything was too expensive for the undead anyway.

We hung around in our hall, milling between both rooms until the speaker system kicked to life. "Floors 13, 19, 35, and 74 to floor 63 for group combat."  
Alex chuckled as we filed into the elevator with Mallory, T.J. and Halfborn. "Nothing like killing people to work out emotions and get ready for a wedding." 

The ground was already splattered in blood by the time that we'd arrived. I could see a giant Lyndworm crashing through pillars surrounding the edges of the cavern. Alex quickly shifted into the form of a polecat, its fur tinged slightly green. I smirked slightly, thinking about how she was so like the comic superhero, Beast Boy. Alex darted into the centre of the cavern, leading our floor's charge against floors 13, 35 and 74. Racing after them, we attacked 35 first. It was an almost female floor, with a range of armoured bracers and chainmail from Camelot times. The two males that were from their floor - like me - were healers. They carried kits of medical supplies and mainly backed away from the fighting, hiding behind their melee floormates.

Alex ran between a pair of chainmail legs and up the back of one of the medics. She shifted again into a wasp, stinging the medic. Mallory and Halfborn rushed at the female knights, whilst T.J. hid behind a rock and watched our back. I pulled Jack from around my neck and the runes on his flat glowed.  
Wassup, short time. No fighting.  
"That's past, you ready?"  
Born ready.

Jack clutched in my hand, I trudged into the battle with the rest, going on attack against the amazonian girl. I swung Jack, using his force and power to knock her off balance, and she landed with a thump on her back. As Jack got ready to disarm her, I couldn't bear killing her, she raised her gauntlets. The were leather and covered in Greek. I'd spent the last several years catching up on everything I'd missed. Superhero movies were one of them, and I'd only just watched them last month. And her cuffs reminded me of one particular superheroine.  
"You're an Amazonian? That's so cool!" I moved Jack away from her slightly, a goofy grin across my face.

"Almighty father, grant me the strength that I may weaken my enemy. Phobos, I call upon you." She grabbed the cuffs and bashed them together, knocking me off my feet.  
"Ow." I had to scramble backwards as she flipped over and lunged at me. Picking herself up, she grabbed at her sword and started slashing at Jack and I. I let go of Jack, letting him defend whilst also calling out cheesy pick up lines to the greek sword. Almost every one of those he saw, he would try and flirt with, it was growing rather tiresome. I made a mental note to not bring him out at the wedding.

I ducked behind some broken pillars, one of the other floors had managed to take control of the Lyndworm. Its iridescent body was slamming down onto the ground with each step of its tiny legs. How they'd managed to rein it was beyond me, and I ducked as its giant tail flicked over my hiding spot. Okay, Magnus, you have to focus. I held my hands in a ball shape at my center, trying to summon the Peace of Frey.

"Aha!" The Amazonian from earlier stood above me, and was just about to swing her sword down to decapitate me when Jack clanged in retaliation.

She grabbed Jack and used her brute force to hurl him as far across the room as possible. Jumping down in front of me, I realised how helpless I was. I raised my hands in fists to at least try and defend myself when she latched onto my wrist. I whipped my arm from her grip and blinked. She wasn't there anymore. And I wasn't either. I was in a field, nothing interesting and no one else around for miles to see. I squinted, and started walking to nowhere in particular, just trying to find something. After a hike that left my legs aching, I came to a grove at the edge of the field. It was covered in lush green ivy and evergreens, and people were huddled around tables. I headed to the head table, seeing my cousin.

"Hey, Annabeth? Where are we?" She ignored me, smiling and laughing at something Percy had told her. "Can you hear me?"

Still nothing, I looked around at the other tables, spotting Alex's green hair. I headed that way, she was deep in conversation with a raven-haired girl that looked like she belonged in a superhero movie. They were discussing how best to take down a dragon. Alex kept saying that you go for the wings, whilst the girl argued that the head worked better. I tried calling to her but to no avail. I sat down on an empty chair, hanging my head and yelling in frustration. Not a moment after I'd voiced my rage, a large grey and black hairy tank dropped onto the head table. Annabeth screamed and I clutched at my neck for Jack, only to find my hand empty. I'd left him at the Hotel. Ducking for cover like the rest of the party, I saw Alex step out, garrote in hand. He used the table as a step to jump onto and straddle the monster, who started growling and slobbering everywhere. It raced to the edge of the grove, rearing onto its hind legs and bashing Alex against the trees. Try as he might, Alex's grip on the short and stubby coat of the monster was released, and he fell to a crumpled heap on the ground.

My attention diverted for a split second as Percy called the monster away, using himself as the new target. As the monster leaped and bounded after Percy, I ran towards Alex, tripping at the last step. I tried to pick him up, tried to heal him but my hands just passed right through him.

"No. No, no. Come on, Alex. Can you hear me?" No response came and I could see the light waning from his eyes as I sat useless.

I felt a pain in my chest, blinking the tears for Alex away. Raising my hand to it, I felt cold metal. Scrunching my eyes up, I felt a pain in my hand as I tried to remove the weapon. Opening my eyes, the Amazonian stood over me once more, a sardonic smile across her face. Her palms were pressed against the pommel of her sword and she put all her pressure on them. I winced in pain, realising that I'd been lied to. That all those events at the wedding were fake, nothing more than fear. At least I hoped. As I lay dying, the Amazonian ran back into battle. Hopefully my flatmates were doing a better job at staying alive than I was. Closing my eyes, I winced again. Let's just hope I got resurrected in time to go see my cousin.


End file.
